watchOS 9: New state-of-the-art running metrics, health features and more

At WWDC 2022, Apple announced watchOS 9, the successor to watchOS 8 for Apple Watch 7 and beyond.

This is breaking news, and we are updating this page live with details as we get them.

watchOS 9: Cut to the chase

• What is it? The latest big update for watchOS
• When does it come out? TBC
• How much does it cost? It's free

The new watchOS 9 is the latest update for Apple's own wearable operating system. No release date has yet been given, but we do know the update will be a free download for all Apple Watch users with compatible devices. 

New running metrics debuted at WWDC 2022 (Image credit: TechRadar)

watchOS 9: New features

There's a lot of new stuff coming to watchOS 9. First, four new watch faces were announced: a remastered Astronomy face, a Lunar watch face supporting Chinese, Islamic and Hebrew calendars, a Playtime face with interactive, whimsical numbers, and Metropolitan, with fog that dynamically stretches as you rotate the crown. 

watchOS 9 introduces new banner notifications, and active apps that can be pinned to the top of watch faces. When listening to podcasts on the go, Search and Listen Now functions will be available on Apple Watch, controlled with the crown. Callkit allows you to start and mute calls. Six new keyboard languages were also mentioned.

(Image credit: TechRadar)

Fitness features

Tons of new stuff here. watchOS 9 is adding three new running form metrics to track how efficiently you run, extrapolating torso movement separately from your arm swing via machine learning to ensure accuracy. Vertical oscillation, stride length, and ground contact time metrics are all brand-new to watchOS 9, and can be added to new easy-to-read workout views.

Familiar metrics such as splits and elevation are now reorganized. You can also see what heart rate zone you’re in a la Fitbit, and add custom wrist-mounted alerts that will alert you when you're falling into and out of specific heart rate zones, allowing you to train for specific goals and fitness levels.

Speaking of, custom workouts allow you to improve specific metrics with interval workouts. The new Power metric can be monitored live, including during running, hiking, cycling, functional strength training workouts and more. 

Apple is gunning for Garmin's crown with its multi-sport mode. The new triathlon-focused mode will allow you to automatically switch between swimming, cycling and running on the fly.

(Image credit: TechRadar)

Health and wellness

In the Sleep app, your stages of sleep can determine and show you whether you're in light, deep and REM sleep mode. So far, nothing new: however, the watch can help you push forward “the science of sleep” by sharing your data with dedicated sleep scientists in the Research app.

Heart health receives a big upgrade with the catchy-sounding Afib History. This feature cross-references your lifestyle factors such as exercise, sleep and weight with your heart health, looking at how it affects your atrial fibrillation. Apple expects to receive FDA clearance for AFib History soon, allowing you to use your AH in a medical context.

You can also track and manage medications on your watch, or in the Health app on your phone. You can build medication lists, or use your iPhone camera to track medications by scanning the label, where it'll automatically add the medication to your existing list. 

In the US alone, drug interactions (a reaction between two or more ingested substances) cause 250k hospitalizations each year. Apple can now use your medication list to look at critical, serious or moderate drug interactions you're likely to encounter, which works with Health Sharing. You can easily invite your family members to share their health data.

watchOS 9: Supported devices 

We're obviously expecting the Apple Watch 7 to support the new watchOS 9, as well as the presumably upcoming Apple Watch 8, which we're expecting to be announced later on this year.

However, the update could also be available on older devices, such as the Apple Watch 6. 

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